Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

40 reviews

jordaneley's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was an intricate and messy romance. I'm going to focus on two aspects that made the story particularly challenging. First is the tourist aspect. The majority of this book takes place on an unnamed (or perhaps I missed it's singular mention) tropical island in the Caribbean. There is neither an established sense of place nor insights or observations from Feyi's perspective during her stay on the island. In that sense, the story felt unmoored and vague. (Though perhaps that's the point, as Feyi struggles to "feel alive" again.) Feyi has arrived in a landscape vastly different from her well known NYC surroundings, and she is immersed in a world of wealth, privilege, and access. This leads into the second aspect - the power dynamics. Feyi arrives in this island location as a guest of Nasir, albeit in his famous Michelin star chef father Alim's home. She is afforded access and introductions into the local gallery/museum scene through her connections to both Nasir and Alim. While she determines early on that her relationship with Nasir will not extend beyond friendship, a starting point they have both agreed to, Feyi never communicates this to establish boundaries or clarify expectations. Miscommunication has entered the chat - and it's a doozy. Nasir feels entitled to more from his relationship with Feyi, that she should be grateful for the access, lodgings, meals, and transport she's been provided, and perhaps that she is indebted to him as such. Which... doesn't really feel like friendship, though that's Nasir's claim - "let's go slow; I'll be patient; just friends for now." While Alim also holds a certain level of power over Feyi, through his fame, wealth, age, and connections, he is more mindful about that dynamic. There is less demand on his side. His acts of service toward Feyi are performed from a deeper sense of care and attraction, but also rooted in their shared connection over their loss of a spouse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Self harm

This book features cheating, miscommunication, and (for lack of a better term) a love triangle

iftheshoef1tz's review

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was excited to read this book because it was billed as “messy characters being messy” and I saw two reviews that said that every character in the book was awful. I do think they were messy, as promised, but I don’t think they were as awful as I was expecting. I don’t agree with Feyi and Alim’s choices, but I think I understand why they were made. Out of a different type of grief, I did some shady things when I was younger. Two people I know from university were in separate relationships (one of them was engaged) before they met each other, then they left their current partners for each other. It caused huge scandal, but they had apparently found what they were missing in their other relationships, and they’re still together, ten years and four kids later. I think this kind of thing can and does happen.

My biggest beef with this book is that the set-up felt like it took forever (although I just checked the book and it’s not that many pages) and then Feyi and Alim fall for each other super fast. I am always a fan of a slow(er) burn, so maybe that’s my issue here, but I would have thought that Alim, at least, as Nasir’s father, would have really hit the brakes on anything for longer than he did. So much of the end was also not what I was expecting? A lot of it felt very pat and trite (

Milan calling randomly? For the first time, like…ever?

) and I really didn’t care for the way

Nasir and Feyi build this rapprochement by the end

, but it had only been, like…a couple weeks or something. 

There was a lot of beautiful writing in this book though, as well as thoughtful prose on grief and mourning. Just didn’t quite stick the landing for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Blood and Car accident

Minor: Death of parent

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Biphobia, Violence, and Car accident

Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Child death

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Drug use, Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent

nefariousbee's review against another edition

emotional inspiring relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I came out of this book like *who hasn't had dilf thoughts?!*
okay for real, Emezi is a wonderful author, I absolutely adore their characters and the way they portray relationships. in their most raw, messy state. what I missed here is hard to out I to words; I just wanted *more*. more messy, raw feelings. everything happened too all at once for my tastes. but i still absolutely loved it and I think I'm gonna read the rest of their books as well, now that I only have two more to go.
also I gotta say, I was really surprised by the average rating. what is here not to love? I'm gonna read some reviews later but I have string suspicions it's the purity culture and pearl clutching that's so prevalent in the younger generation again and I don't fuck with that. fiction is such a great place to figure out fucked up situations and Emezi does just that here. and they do it well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, and Alcohol

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a well written story but also the premise was more trashy romance novel than i expected based on the description.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Minor: Incest

venetiana's review against another edition

******

THE ORIGINAL BOOK IS BRILLIANT. ✨

This explanation is about the German audio book:
⬇️

******

The *German* version is badly translated. I cringed!

Admittedly, while the narrator has an amazing voice, the German audiobook was also not well read, and some things were just pronounced wrong, which kept pulling me out of the story.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Biphobia, Bullying, Infidelity, Medical content, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

venetiana's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Best book I've read in a long time. Sometimes I wanted to highlight All the Words, the writing is beautiful.
Very emotional (in a good way) and tender.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Minor: Biphobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Homophobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders